Four people will be honored on Wednesday, Dec. 5, by Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey at its annual gala dinner, the agency's main fund-raising event of the year.

Julie and Mark Ginsberg will receive the Miriam Karch Award for their devotion to the Jewish community and the Jewish people as a whole; the Ruth Bilenker Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service will be presented to two longtime friends and partners in volunteering, Myra Hoffman and Charlotte Shak.

In addition to his service with JFS, Mark Ginsberg, who has worked for 25 years with Garden Homes of Short Hills, has been a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey and of the Jewish Community Center of Central New Jersey. As well as serving in various capacities with a number of other Jewish organizations in and around their hometown of Morganville, he oversaw the expansion of the JFS main facility in Elizabeth.

Julie Ginsberg is a member of the Lion of Judah with the Women's Campaign of the Central federation and a past board member and vice president of the PTA of the Solomon Schechter Day School in Marlboro.

Hoffman, together with her husband, Larry, has been involved as a JFS board member for over 20 years, from their days of living in Scotch Plains and since moving to Chatham. Hoffman, who is the business coordinator of the cardiac electrophysiology department at Morristown Memorial Hospital, has served as the chair of the JFS personnel committee for the past 10 years. Before that, she was a vice president of the agency and a member of its executive board. She is also a life member of Hadassah and has been active in various temple sisterhoods. She and her husband have also contributed to the recent building campaign to expand the JFS headquarters in Elizabeth.

Shak began her involvement with JFS nearly 30 years ago when she joined the board together with her husband, Nieson. She helped resettle and taught English to Russian Jews when they arrived in Union County and assisted Ruth Bilenker in packing food for the monthly JFS Food Pantry Program. She is a Central federation Lion of Judah and a Westfield Hadassah Keeper of the Gate. The Shaks, who live in Scotch Plains, dedicated a group therapy room and the handicapped lavatory in the newly expanded JFS facility in Elizabeth.

To make dinner reservations or to place an ad in the journal, call the JFS office at 908-352-8375.